Let us help you finish your holiday shopping! Below are some ways that you can give thoughtful gifts to friends and family while giving back to Women for Women International.

1. Shop our Gifts that Give Back campaign! With each symbolic gift you give – baby chicks, a sewing machine, and a bicycle are some of our favorites – we’ll send either an eCard or a mailed card to your recipient. Your purchase price is a donation to help support our programs. This is a great option for the person on your list who already has everything.

2. Give the gift of sponsorship! Sponsoring a sister in our program – which means you’re providing her with the opportunity to enroll in our year long program – is one of the best ways to make an impact. When you give a sponsorship to a friend, you’re giving that friend a rewarding year-long sponsorship experience.

3. Shop our partners! Buy holiday gifts from retailers who support our organization. One great option is this Pamper for a Cause gift set from our partners at Prosperity Candle. Prosperity Candle will donate 10% of each set purchased to Women for Women!

We are proud to let you know about our brand new partner – Wordologies!

What started as a kitchen-table dream about enhancing wellness is now a reality, and they couldn’t be happier. Their goal is to offer gentle reminders that inspire positive change. They do that through the products they offer, and the cause they support, Women for Women International. And we are so grateful for their support!

Wordologies believe empowering women creates the change they want to see in the world. And so they’re proud to be an alliance partner with Women for Women International, an organization dedicated to advancing women’s health and well-being.

They’re glad to offer a portion of the proceeds from every online sale to Women for Women International. Come see what they’re about!

One woman at a time, let’s support female survivors of war all over the world—to become self-sufficient, to become aware of their rights, and to rebuild their lives.

It isn’t very often that we are able to be inspired by young girls and all too often as adults, we forget that children are wanting to make a difference in this world. Each day Katelynn inspires me with her brilliance, quick whit, and beautiful compassion but I noticed that she is struggling with her own issues of not thinking she is pretty enough, not feeling that she will have friends, and I was shocked when this beautiful child was expressing so much anxiety about her looks. Her father and I decided for her birthday that I would take her to an art exhibit called “Half the Sky” that discussed human trafficking, maternal mortality, micro lending, and other issues. I wanted Katelynn to know that girls her age have struggles of their own and that she could do something to help. At the end of the exhibit, participants were asked to make a commitment to do something to help women and girls. Katelynn wrote on a notecard that she would do a lemonade stand/bake sale to donate money to Women for Women International. A few months ago Katelynn held her lemonade stand and raised $101 for Women for Women. She was so proud of herself that she had made so much money and she cannot believe that the money she raised will be used to help women throughout the world. As an activist and a feminist, I could not be prouder of Katelynn to be dedicated to improving the lives of others when she is struggling so hard to make her way in this world herself. I hope that this simple act of kindness will inspire you to look at the young people in your life, ask them what they want to do to change the world, and then help them go out and do it. -Missy (Katelynn’s proud stepmom)

P.S. Below is the letter that Katelynn sent to WfWI.

P.P.S. Katelynn is excited to have taken her bake sale to the internet to raise more money for WfWI! If you’d like to buy “virtual treats” (i.e. make a donation to support her efforts), please visit Katelynn’s page: http://wfwi.kintera.org/katelynn

A long time supporter Shelmin Turo, is hosting an event in October with the proceeds going to Women for Women International. If you are in the Los Angeles area, please join her along with others for an evening of fun!

Plaease see details below:

The Ultimate Girls’ Night Out!
100 women under the stars to benefit Women for Women International!
October 6, 2012 in Los Angeles at 7:00 pm
Join us for Appetizers, Cocktails, DJ, Art, Silent Auction and much more!
Please RSVP to jayshelmin@yahoo.com or call (818) 419-4227

We’re able to help women rebuild their lives because of the passion and dedication of our supporters. We recently interviewed one of our Volunteer Ambassadors in Seattle – Deborah Bassett – and we’d like you to get to know her.

1. Can you tell us a little about yourself? Where are you from, what do you do, what are your hobbies/interests?

I am originally from Pensacola, FL and now live in Seattle, WA where I am a completing a post-doctoral fellowship in the University of Washington School of Medicine on post-traumatic stress disorder in North American indigenous populations. I am an ethnographer of communication who investigates the role of communication and culture in health. When I’m not working I enjoy exploring the beautiful Pacific Northwest coast and spending time with my husband, Lowell, and my French bulldog, Buster.

2. Why do you support women survivors of war and Women for Women International?

A few years ago a friend and I were talking about the many challenges women face worldwide. I said to her, “Wouldn’t it be wonderful if there was an international organization that we could be part of that was directly helping women in the most vulnerable regions of the world?” A few days later I happened across a mention of WfWI online and found exactly the organization I had been wishing for! I signed up as a sponsor that day and shortly afterwards became an ambassador. Sponsoring my sister Monica in South Sudan and learning about the challenges she faces is a humbling reminder of all the things I have to be grateful for that I so often take for granted, like clean drinking water and freedom from violence, to name a few.

3. Why do you think it’s important for people to take action and get involved in their communities on behalf of women around the world?

The problems that women and their families face around the world are dire but we can make a significant and lasting difference by partnering with our communities, raising awareness and support for our sisters. I strongly believe that the health and well-being of women worldwide is indicative of the health of our world as a whole. We simply cannot sit idly by while women and their families are devasted by war and violence. I have found that everyone I meet wants to be part of making a difference in these areas. They just don’t know how to do it!

4. What tips would you give people who want to plan a fundraising/awareness event in their community?

Fund-raising events are a wonderful way to connect with others who share your passion for helping women around the world. Partner with existing advocacy groups and businesses in your community. My experience has been that people are excited about WfWI and delighted to participate in community events. Plan ahead, be flexible, and have fun!

5. What are your hopes for the women we serve around the world?

I am optimistic about the futures of the women we serve! As they learn the skills and receive the tools they need to rebuild their lives, they are teaching their daughters and sons how to break the cycle of poverty and violence.

6. Anything else you’d like to say to fellow supporters of Women for Women International?

I am so honored to be a part of this wonderful family of supporters. When I speak at fund-raising events, I tell supporters that I envision all of us holding hands across the world. Regardless of where we come from, we are united in our hopes and dreams for a better world for all of us.

Tony Hoffman, Ph.D, teaches a course on Children and War at UC Santa Cruz in Santa Cruz, California. Through creative outlets, students strived to create projects focused on encouraging community outreach, the spread of knowledge, and an awareness of what children, girls, and women face throughout the world (and specifically in regions of Africa). The DRC group planned and executed an outreach event on the UCSC campus focusing on Sexual Gender-Based violence and various other issues that girls and women in the DRC are confronted with daily. In providing a creative outlet to express the importance of these issues, the DRC group in the Children and War course were able to spread awareness of a continuing problem that is often neglected. They hope to shed light on what is happening in a widely unknown conflict, and this slideshow is a small representation of their efforts.

Amanda in Portland, OR recently co-authored a guest blog post with two other authors to discuss about conflict minerals that’s currently taking place right now in the DRC. Inspired by the book The Enough Moment, where she first learned about the topic, she felt the need to take action. Earlier this year, she gathered a group of people to run a 10K to benefit Run for Congo Women through Women for Women International. She wanted to do more, so she involved higher authority by pressing them into rethinking and rewriting policies that would promote a peaceful resolution to the current conflict. Read more about her article by clicking here.

Not only are we appreciative of her hosting a run but we are grateful for Amanda’s willingness to go the extra mile in order to build a more peaceful world.